Posted by glutenfr | Posted in Lifestyle, Science, nutrition | Posted on 07-11-2011
Tags: coeliac, scientific developments
It dawned on me recently that the typical Gluten Free Family reader is female — yet coeliac disease is not a gender-specific condition.
I decided it was time to try and figure out what was going on and it turns out that it’s no coincidence. Men are slipping through the cracks when it comes to getting their gluten problems diagnosed, according to an Australian gastroenterologist, Dr Bob Anderson.
In a recent study he found that men make up less than 30 per cent of the people tested for coeliac in Australia. The reason? Experts put it down to low awareness of coeliac disease in the community and they point out some of the more common signs that may raise flags with men:
- unexplained tiredness and a general lack of energy or get-up-and-go is a common early sign
- stomach cramps, reflux, diarrhoea or constipation are other common signs as the disease progresses
However I think there are other factors at play. Research shows that in general, men are significantly less likely to visit their GP than women — and I would imagine the problem becomes even more pronounced when vague or embarrassing symptoms are involved.
And though I don’t like to generalise, the prospect of a going on a gluten free diet is not going to be a huge incentive to the average male either.
After hearing about this research, I broached the topic with the ex-man in my life. I did so on the grounds that at least one of his offspring is gluten sensitive and because he has been known to fend off extra chores on the grounds of weariness.
I was delicate. I laced my words with phrases like “it might be worth a try” and “of course it’s totally up to you”.
He listened politely for about ten seconds until he got the general gist and then he adopted the voice he usually reserves for axe murderers and said: “You can forget it. I’m never giving up gluten. No way, not ever!”
I tend to think that families the world over may be having similar types of conversations these days.
The trouble with the head-in-the-sand approach is that it’s not just the day-to-day symptoms you need to contend with. Coeliac can significantly shrink the part of the digestive system that absorbs nutrients from food (think a tennis court versus a table top, says coeliac expert, Dr Jason Tye-Din).
This can result in threatening complications like cancer, liver disease, osteoporosis and infertility. What’s worse, 75 per cent of sufferers don’t even know they have the condition.
It could be time to have a chat with the man in your life. May I suggest earplugs?
Mandy
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Love this post, so true! I feel like I am a broken record about this with a few men (and women) I know.
I am not the coeliac, my husband is. He was diagnosed as a baby, but they said he would grow out of it and in his thirties it would come back. So in his early thirties (few years ago) he was constantly sick and tired, doctors tested him for everything could not work it out. Until his mum said “maybe it is your coeliac back” then he started on the GF diet. I used to call him “Grumpy Old Man” now he does not get called that much anymore. Only when he has come in contact with gluten! Took him some time to get used to the diet but when he realised the difference it made to him (and our relationship) he is so conscious of what he eats. My 2 year old son started showing signs so our whole house is now GF.
Forwarding this to my brother in the hopes that it will convince him to get tested. He has all the symptons and I have it so good chance he has it too.
Hi
I (a male )have been intolerant to wheat for many >40 years and have had to find my own way around this problem until recent years as more products come on the market. I do not find it easy dinning out as cross conntamination is not understood very well by most Cooks/Chefs or the nuiances in some ingredients which contain wheat by products ie Soy sauce /( powder).